books & things Since 2008

Tag: Overlook Press

I made it through the spring thanks to Overlook Press and their scrumptious The Collector’s Wodehouse series. That’s not to imply that I own or have read all the titles in the series—far from it!—but I have a sizable tower of mirth within reach.

Now I’ve raved about this vast collection before (see this LINK), but it bears repeating, since you’ll not only find the seminal titles (the Jeeves & Wooster series and Blandings Castle books) but lesser known gems and stand-alones such as THE MATING SEASON and THE GIRL ON THE BOAT. All the books are beautifully crafted hardcovers, of uniform design, with wonderful cover art by Andrzej Klimowski. And these editions make grand gifts that will certainly whet one’s appetite to start collecting them. (I wonder if Overlook offers a discount for the entire series? I daresay it would cost a fortune to ship.)

Wodehouse novels and stories are a delight for all seasons. In winter, they provide spring breezes. In summer, they put you in a gently swaying hammock.

This season, if you want to give the gift of laughter and a cozy escape from these dark days, you can’t go wrong with a novel by the humorist P.G. Wodehouse, the creator of Bertie Wooster and his valet extraordinaire, Jeeves. In the past, I’ve had to make do with uninspired dog-eared paperbacks found in secondhand bookshops but, now—thanks to the great Overlook Press — we have The Collector’s Wodehouse editions. This uniform series in hardcovers is handsomely crafted, designed by Peter B. Willberg, with wonderful cover illustrations by Andrzej Klimowski.

By my count, there are 46 titles in the series, which is more than enough to keep the merriment flowing throughout the New Year.

Furthermore, these novels need not be a “guilty pleasure” since, in between the chuckles and guffaws, one can savor the sentences of a master stylist. Here, for example, is Bertie’s take on a violin solo at a local concert hall in The Mating Season:

Except for knowing that when you’ve heard one, you’ve heard them all, I’m not really an authority on violin solos, so cannot state definitively whether La Pulbrook’s was or was not a credit to the accomplices who had taught her the use of the instrument. It was loud in spots and less loud in other spots, and it had that quality which I have noticed in all violin solos, of seeming to last much longer than it actually did.